-First install the official patch, then BG2 Fixpack (only Core Fixes andGame Text Update) and lastly the Bonus Merchants patch which adds the salersavailable on the bonus CDs.

-Use TAB key to highlight doors,containers and items (available with the expansion Throne of Bhaal).

-It's a good idea to set the game to autopause when: Enemy Sighted,Trap Foundand Weapon Unusable.

-Good characters will leave your party if your reputation is too low (1 or 2),and Evil characters will leave if the reputation gets too high (19 or 20).When they leave,they cannot be re-acquired.

-Save often. Before you fight a battle, after you win a battle, before you go to sleep, before you travel to a new area, when you talk to a character, when you steal, and everywhere else.

-Because of the discounts in shops you really want a high reputation. 18 is best for a party mixed with evil characters b/c they will leave if you hit 19.You can make donations in temples to increase your reputation.

-In shops, for discounts, the game checks Charisma of the current leader.So besure he is the person with the highest Charisma in the party.There are itemsand spells which can be used to increase this stat (like Ring of HumanInfluence and Friends).

-Dropping a love interest from the party will terminate a romance, sodon't start one with someone you aren't willing to keep around permanently.This will also happens if she/he gets killed or petrified.

-For the Limited Wish spell you need Wisdom 16 to get only the best results.At the Wish spell Wisdom 18 is required.

-Many groups of enemies will be easier to kill if you move downstairs/out the door (into another area map) after they attack you, as some will follow you andsome will not.

-The best way to fight a hard battle is this: save before, then watch the fight without interfering, even if you are slaughtered. In the meantime pay attentionwhat spells are cast by enemies, what weapons are needed for hitting them,etc.Then reload,make a plan and fight.

Fighters - Spellcaster Defend,to be able to tell them who to attack in combat,not only the closest enemy.Cleric/Druid/Mage - None,they only have one attack/round so it's better to keepthem unharmed and use their spells.There are spellcster's scripts but they'lluse powerful spells on weak enemies and vice-versa, wasting them.Thief - Thief Adventurer,he'll search for traps and not engage in combat,samereason as before.

After a party NPC leaves and comes back, his script returns to "Custom", so youwill have to reassign it.

-When in dungeons,always search for traps.

-Use for you and party NPCs only the weapons you are proficient (have stars) inthem to not receive penalties at THACO (To Hit Armor Class 0).

-The lower AC (Armor Class), THACO and Saving Throws are, the better.

-If you get the message "Weapon Ineffective" when fighting, try switching to aweapon with more enhancement (ex. +1) or use the spell Breach if the enemyhas spell protections.

-A thief can "backstab" only if he is invisible and behind the target.

-Some spells like Stoneskin and Ironskin have a duration of 12 hours; it's bestto have them always on a character.

-When you form your party, it's good to avoid having NPCs that eventuallywill come to blows each other like Edwin with Minsc, Keldorn with Viconia andAnomen with Aerie.

-You'll be forced to choose weapons proficiencies for your fighters when they level up. The best ones are: katana,flail,quarterstaff as they are the most powerful weapons in the game.

-Don't put important items on the ground, they'll decay in a day or two.It's better to leave them in containers.

-It's a good idea to have enhanced AND normal weapons in your inventory tochange them regarding the opponents you face.There are opponents immune toweapons below a certain enhancement and also enemies which can be hit onlywith normal weapons.

-In Shadows of Amn keep a Rogue Stone, a diamond and a Beljuril in yourinventory; you're gonna need them.

-A good party consists from two fighters, a druid or cleric, a mage and a thief(or combinations from the above).

uh? I thought they would be able to if you lowered/raised your rep, and they only leave if your base CHA is nixed. to 3 because you were making a munchkin build.

-Because of the discounts in shops you really want a high reputation. 18 is best for a party mixed with evil characters b/c they will leave if you hit 19.You can make donations in temples to increase your reputation.

-Dropping a love interest from the party will terminate a romance, sodon't start one with someone you aren't willing to keep around permanently.This will also happens if she/he gets killed or petrified.

No.

-Many groups of enemies will be easier to kill if you move downstairs/out the door (into another area map) after they attack you, as some will follow you andsome will not.

maybe if you set traps first. No mention of traps.

-The best way to fight a hard battle is this: save before, then watch the fight without interfering, even if you are slaughtered. In the meantime pay attentionwhat spells are cast by enemies, what weapons are needed for hitting them,etc.Then reload,make a plan and fight.

Uh... send in a troop of summons you suicidal maniac, let the summons eat their spells, and let them cast their buffs, wait 10 rounds most short term buffs are gone, send in a SECOND team of summons. wait a bit and join with your main party.

What spells are used is moot, unless its like 'death spell' in which case bait it out with sending in your summons a few at a time so you don't waste them all. but seriously what the hell man? What spells the enemy uses DOES NOT MATTER. if its a spell heavy party maybe use Nishruu or whatever, but mainly I just threw animate deads at them, whatever it is doesn't matter, just needs to be strong enough and last long enough to eat all their cheese.

-You'll be forced to choose weapons proficiencies for your fighters when they level up. The best ones are: katana,flail,quarterstaff as they are the most powerful weapons in the game.

Woah, no. dear god no. Troll sighted.

-It's a good idea to have enhanced AND normal weapons in your inventory tochange them regarding the opponents you face.There are opponents immune toweapons below a certain enhancement and also enemies which can be hit onlywith normal weapons.

no.

-In Shadows of Amn keep a Rogue Stone, a diamond and a Beljuril in yourinventory; you're gonna need them.

no.

...Yeah. NO

---Anybody saying this is anime of the year will immediately be shut down when FMA comes out. -cloudvstidus4life | Posted: 2/17/2009

#4UltimatheChosenPosted 12/19/2009 5:59:57 AM

He IS right about the "rogue stone, diamond, and beljuril" part, actually. You need the Rogue Stone to get into the Twisted Rune in the Bridge district, and the diamond and the beljuril are used to upgrade the Horn of Valhalla.

He's also right about keeping unenchanted weapons. Many enemy spellcasters use "Protection from Magical Weapons", and regular stuff ignores that (or you could just use Breach). Then, there are magic golems in ToB, and Breach won't work on them.

Katanas have a few good weapons (most notably Celestial Fury), but I agree they're generally overshadowed by the awesomeness of weapons like Crom Faeyr and Blackrazor. Not worth maxing (not on a fighter, anyways).

I agree that his combat recommendations are crap, though.---There are no heroes left in man.

#5ryuken87Posted 12/19/2009 6:06:00 AM

^Every time you come across magic golems there is a convenient stash of normal weapons nearby.

#6ZozmaSagePosted 12/19/2009 7:49:46 AM

What spells are used is moot, unless its like 'death spell' in which case bait it out with sending in your summons a few at a time so you don't waste them all. but seriously what the hell man? What spells the enemy uses DOES NOT MATTER. if its a spell heavy party maybe use Nishruu or whatever, but mainly I just threw animate deads at them, whatever it is doesn't matter, just needs to be strong enough and last long enough to eat all their cheese.Much like the enemy, you're going to be able to endure most direct damage spells the enemy throws at you, because direct damage spells aren't what magic's about. The problem comes from hold, fear, death, and similar spells, which means you can't "eat their cheese." As such, the spells the enemy uses DO MATTER, and you'll find that reliance on Nishru's and their Big Brother spells becomes a bad idea quite quickly. While learning enemy tactics, strengths, and numbers via self-induced slaughter can become tedious, it's definitely a viable strategy, and can be used when summoning kamikaze monsters can't.

-It's a good idea to set the game to autopause when: Enemy Sighted,Trap Foundand Weapon Unusable.Again, not a bad strategy, but I can't definitely see it getting tedious.

-Don't put important items on the ground, they'll decay in a day or two.It's better to leave them in containers.Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought important items didn't decay?

-A good party consists from two fighters, a druid or cleric, a mage and a thief(or combinations from the above).This is a pretty standard party, and while good, is by no means the quintessential "good" party. I, for example, don't feel comfortable unless I'm playing with at least two mages. Still, since this is a beginner's guide …

#7red255Posted 12/19/2009 8:09:51 AM

He IS right about the "rogue stone, diamond, and beljuril" part, actually. You need the Rogue Stone to get into the Twisted Rune in the Bridge district, and the diamond and the beljuril are used to upgrade the Horn of Valhalla.

The horn vahalla summons a warrior of moot size for a brief period of time. its not useful enough upgraded or not upgraded to warrant caring about. Miss upgrading the horn, and you'll just be ahead because you'll have more cash and the horn is pretty darn worthless. at BEST it summons a lvl 9 AI controlled beserker warrior with likely non-magic gear.

He's also right about keeping unenchanted weapons. Many enemy spellcasters use "Protection from Magical Weapons", and regular stuff ignores that (or you could just use Breach). Then, there are magic golems in ToB, and Breach won't work on them.

While I HAD so many weapon slots late game I gave a few of them plain weapons for the magic golems, but its not essential as they are normally a pile of them somewhere on the start of the map you find the golems on, and its not like they are hard to hit and can't use just any old stick to punch them down.

and protection from magic weapons mages ALWAYS seem to have protection from normal weapons. making it moot. except maybe for chump mages, but LIches for example are immune to weapons less than +X, and chump mages are barely worth talking about.

Katanas have a few good weapons (most notably Celestial Fury), but I agree they're generally overshadowed by the awesomeness of weapons like Crom Faeyr and Blackrazor. Not worth maxing (not on a fighter, anyways).

Celestial fury is found after a rather difficult fight in an area you likely would not visit unless you knew where it was. It and the quarterstaff might be decent for a fighter/THEIF or stalker getting in backstabs.

But I'd recommend a Flail, longsword, Axe, Greatsword. or warhammer over katana's maybe even maces.

Quarterstaffs are ... likely just better than spears and daggers... and only because you can backstab with them. maybe Bastard swords too because they just don't exist

but if a fighter wants to two hand, he should use a Greatsword. or halberd, or really anything except a spear (arguably) is better than a quarterstaff.---Anybody saying this is anime of the year will immediately be shut down when FMA comes out. -cloudvstidus4life | Posted: 2/17/2009

#8Landov(Topic Creator)Posted 12/19/2009 10:07:21 AM

When they leave,they cannot be re-acquired.

I had a medium base CH in a game, and people left at very low and very high reputation permanently.

You can make donations in temples to increase your reputation.

Actually my favorite strategy is to raise in temples reputation from 12 (lawful good) to 17, thenmake a few quests which increase it (like Slavers in Copper Coronet) to 20 ASAP. After this I put a mage with the Ring of Human Influence as leader and get him cast Friends to raise CH to 24. I assure you that is a huge discount in shops. I haven't a save game to check now but is like 3-4 times cheaper and you can afford at the beginning of the game all the items you want, including the ones from Bonus Merchants.

This will also happens if she/he gets killed or petrified.

You're correct - I tested and only if she get petrified the romance will end.

The best ones are: katana,flail,quarterstaff as they are the mostpowerful weapons in the game.

I anticipated a debate here, still these reflect only my personal point of view.I consider Celestial Fury, Flail of Ages (+3 and +4 as +5 can't be improved hasted) and Staff of the Ram the best weapons in the game - for the right hand the first two. Some time ago I did tests with all the major weapons and this is my conclusion.

#9WaffIeElitePosted 12/19/2009 10:19:21 AM

New players should shy away from most of the direct damage spells except Magic Missile, and focus more on summons, healing and buff/debuff magic. Direct damage often involves dangerous AOE or breaking immunities/resistances/spell protections before it's worthwhile.

Summons not only do more damage in most cases, but provide another meat shield, and sometimes special abilities too.

In Shadows of Amn keep a Rogue Stone, a diamond and a Beljuril in yourinventory; you're gonna need them.

The Horn of Valhalla summons a level 5-9 fighter with a +1 weapon (although is not labelled as such) for one minute. The second warrior, from the Bronze Horn, can be acquired early in the game and I guess that it's a good enough summon for that period. It has 70 HP and 2.5 attacks/round.